NC State German Studies

Upper Level Course Descriptions and Syllabi

from Previous Semesters

Upper Level Course Offerings in Spring 2008 :

FLG 309-001Advanced German Conversation
MWF 1:30 – 2:20 in Harrelson 238
Silke Groder, szgroder@unity.ncsu.edu, 515-9311
In this course you will learn how to communicate in an authentic setting. We will use texts about the 1950's to learn about the situation and mood in this time shortly after the war. We will use newspaper articles to distinguish "sensational" pieces from "serious" articles. We will look at the 12 typical Germans in the 80's and at German commercials. Further, we will talk about German sayings and will compare them with English sayings. We will also talk about body language and you will learn about props to help you become active listeners. Overall we will touch on many different kinds of texts and subjects to give you an idea of how to use German effectively in different settings. At the end of the semester you will give a short presentation in class.
Syllabus: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~szgroder/Semester_ScheduleSpring08309.htm

FLG 318-001 New German Cinema
MWF 11:20 – 12:10 in Caldwell G109
Dr. Lutz Kube, lkube@unity.ncsu.edu, 515-9304
New German Cinema stands for a new generation of German filmmakers whose intriguing topics and innovative film techniques secured them the acclaim of international critics. In this class, we will discuss some major movies of the New German Cinema in their historical context, such as Volker Schlöndorff’s Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum), Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Die Ehe der Maria Braun (The Marriage of Maria Braun), and Wim Wender’s Der Himmel über Berlin (Wings of Desire).
Syllabus: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~lkube/FLG%20318%20syllabus%20spring%2008.htm

FLG 390-001 German Studies Topics: Green Germany
TH 11:45 – 1 in Withers 135
Dr. Helga G. Braunbeck, helga_braunbeck@ncsu.edu, 515-9320
The German-speaking culture has a long "green" tradition reflected in the arts, in literature and in scientific discoveries that have made Germany a leader in the development of alternative environmental technologies. In this course we will discuss everything from nature poetry and landscape painting to the Germans' strong environmental consciousness, issues of climate change, and the latest environmental technologies. We will start with texts and art on the concepts of nature during Romanticism, briefly look at the effects of industrialization at the end of the 19th century, discuss the Nazi's attitude towards nature and then spend most of the semester discussing the second half of the 20th and the beginning 21st centuries. The time after 1960 brought a steep rise in environmental consciousness, the success and tremendous political effect of Germany's Green Party, issues of increased air and water pollution, waste management, energy production, climate change, transportation systems, and how to develop alternative energy sources. We will study literary and non-literary text and image sources and you will learn to discuss nature and environmental issues in German through our class debates, essays and oral presentations.
Syllabus: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~hgb/flg390_green_germany/390sylsp08.htm

FLG 390-003 German Studies Topics: The Age of Goethe
TH 3 – 4:15 in Winston 132
Dr. Raymond Burt, UNC Wilmington, via life videoconferencing, burtr@uncw.edu
Local liason: Dr. Helga G. Braunbeck, helga_braunbeck@ncsu.edu, 515-9320
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is perhaps the most influential author in German literature, as he moved through various literary movements and created or defined important genres in those movements. During his lifetime (1749-1832), German literature grew from obscurity and disdain to become a leading force in European culture. In this course we will examine some of Goethe’s great masterpieces as well as others from that era, including works representative of the Sturm und Drang, Romanticism, and Classicism, such as Goethe's Die Leiden des jungen Werther, Faust I and selected poems; Schiller's Die Räuber and selected poems; Kleist's Das Erdbeben in Chile, and Tieck's Der blonde Eckbert. We will also focus on the life and times of Goethe in order to understand his influence and role in German and European culture. As a special option to the course, students are invited to participate in a Spring break trip to Germany. The primary objective of this trip is to give you an opportunity to visit the significant sights in the life of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. You will see Goethe’s birthplace in Frankfurt, the Goethe Museum in Düsseldorf, and the city of Weimar, a city whose name is synonymous with Goethe and the culture of 18th century Germany. Walk in Goethe’s footsteps. Also included will be a play or performance based on one of Goethe´s works.
Syllabus: http://sasw.chass.ncsu.edu/fl/german/390goethe_sylsp08.html

FL 539A-001 Seminar in World Literature: Franz Kafka and Thomas Mann, World Authors
TH 10:15 – 11:30 in Withers 130
Dr. Ruth Gross, rvgross@unity.ncsu.edu, 515-9310.
This course is a graduate seminar taught in English. Students in German Studies can take this course and have it count for their German Studies Major or Minor, but need to get the instructor's permission to participate in the course.

Perhaps no other author has captured the modern imagination as totally as Franz Kafka (1883-1924). This Jewish German-speaking writer, who felt both in and out of place in his native Prague, saw himself as the most special of special cases, and this sense of himself has made him into a standard of comparison to other writers. Kafka's idiosyncrasies are so powerfully expressed in his style that critics have recognized him in a whole variety of texts from diverse literatures and periods. As the Argentine Borges has said, Kafka creates his own precursors. In this course we will study not only the important works of Kafka, concentrating on general issues of narrative style, perspective, and structure and examining the way in which the various forms of ambiguity in Kafka's works appear to elicit a wide range of interpretative approaches, but also look at the author in the context of world literature, comparing his ideas about literature and the artist to those of Thomas Mann (1875-1955), perhaps the greatest novelist and novella-writer of the 20th century and a modernist of a completely different stripe from Kafka. Taking these two great writers together, we will study their works in depth and examine the extremes of modernism in the early 20th century.

Upper Level Course Offerings in Fall 2007:

FLG 300, Introduction to German Literature, Dr. Gross, http://social.chass.ncsu.edu/~rvgross/FLG300.htm

FLG 307, Business German, Dr. Braunbeck, http://www4.ncsu.edu/~hgb/flg307/307sylfa07.htm.

FLG 310, Advanced German Grammar and Syntax, Dr. Kube; this course will use the second half of the book Anders gedacht: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~lkube/syllabus%20310%20fall07.htm

FLG 430, German Artefacts: The Operas of Richard Wagner, Dr. Salwen (UNC Wilmington), http://www.uncw.edu/music/salwenb/GER495/GER495Syllabus.htm
You can sign up for this course if you have already taken one course at the FLG 300 level, or by special permission. Here's a short description:

Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883) was one of the great figures of German-speaking culture of the 19th century. His influence has been immense, extending into our own time.  His music is performed worldwide and is a fixture in the opera houses of Germany. In addition to his operas, for which he is best known, Wagner wrote extensively about music, the theatre, and politics.  Some of his prose works continue to be studied today, and some remain intensely controversial, especially with regard to the question of Wagner’s relationship to the Nazi ideology of half a century later.
In this course you will become acquainted with some of the great music from the Wagner operas.  You do not need any specialized knowledge of music. We will also consider Wagner with relation to the cultural currents of his time, especially in Germany, and read briefly from his prose writings.  By the end of the course, you will be familiar with the music and thinking of this major figure in German and international musical culture and, we hope, leave with some great listening experiences!